Infinitely Losing My Edge
Yeah, I'm losing my edge.
I'm losing my edge.
The kids are coming up from behind.
I'm losing my edge.
I'm losing my edge to the kids from France and from Delhi.
But I was there.
I was there in 1975.
I was there at the first Ubu show in Cleveland.
I'm losing my edge.
I'm losing my edge to the kids whose footsteps I hear when they get on the decks.
I'm losing my edge to the internet seekers who can tell me every member of every good group from 1965 to 1971.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Houston and Winnipeg.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Hong Kong kids in little jackets and borrowed nostalgia for the unremembered nineties.
I'm losing my edge.
I'm losing my edge.
I can hear the footsteps every night on the decks.
But I was there.
I was there in 1970 at the first Onyeabor practice in a loft in Enugu.
I was working on the mellotron sounds with much patience.
I was there when Captain Beefheart started up his first band.
I told him, "Don't do it that way. You'll never make a dime."
I was there.
I was the first guy playing Pulsallama to the rap kids.
I played it at the Spitz.
Everybody thought I was crazy.
We all know.
I was there.
I was there.
I've never been wrong.
But I'm losing my edge to better-looking people with better ideas and more talent.
And they're actually really, really nice.
I'm losing my edge.
I heard you have a compilation of every good song ever done by anybody.
Every great song by Rekid. All the underground hits.
All Alton Ellis tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Royal Family And The Poor record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal jazz hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '80s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a marimba and a synthesizer and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Swell Maps record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your oboe and bought a clarinet.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought an oboe.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Radio Birdman,
The Searchers,
The Martian,
Lebanon Hanover,
Surgeon,
The Zeros,
Terror Squad Feat. Camron,
Wire,
Glenn Branca,
Anthony Braxton,
Glambeats Corp.,
Nas,
David Axelrod,
Franke,
Be Bop Deluxe,
OOIOO,
Lalann,
Outsiders,
Half Japanese,
Drive Like Jehu,
Bauhaus,
Second Layer,
Jerry's Kids,
Audionom,
Delon & Dalcan,
Barrington Levy,
Tubeway Army,
Ultimate Spinach,
Masta Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane,
Unwound,
Groovy Waters,
Malaria!,
Soft Cell,
The Mummies,
X-Ray Spex,
Jesper Dahlbäck,
Slave,
Agent Orange,
Dennis Brown,
CMW,
Bobby Byrd,
Kevin Saunderson,
The Beau Brummels,
John Lydon,
Little Man,
Eden Ahbez,
Lizzy Mercier Descloux,
Larry & the Blue Notes,
Stetsasonic,
Sun Ra Arkestra,
The Gap Band,
Bootsy's Rubber Band,
Erykah Badu,
Gang of Four,
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth,
Kayak,
Procol Harum,
Camron Feat. Memphis Bleek And Beenie Seigel,
Brothers Johnson,
Leonard Cohen,
Joyce Sims,
Donny Hathaway,
The Walker Brothers,
Amon Düül, Amon Düül, Amon Düül, Amon Düül.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.